For Mary Cummings, senior vice president of graduate programs, her career in higher education was a way to give back – to serve and inspire others after a successful corporate career.
Education has been Cummings’ chance to mentor and teach leadership.
“My corporate career—that was one career. This is what I call my ‘encore’ giving career,” she said. “Where I now take what I’ve learned and try to help the university from a business background…but also…on the academic side.”
It’s this dedication to service and leadership that led to Cummings being recognized as a 2018 Woman of Influence by the Pittsburgh Business Times. She was nominated by Waynesburg University President Douglas Lee. The award honors influential business women in the region, and according to the Pittsburgh Business Times website, focuses on “women who’ve made a difference in their communities, blazed a trail for other women and are leaving a mark on the western Pennsylvania business community.”
Cummings got started in the telecommunications industry as a telephone operator. She went to night school part-time while working her way up companies that would take her all around the world. She worked for the Bell System of Pennsylvania – the very system that would eventually become AT&T. Her work took her to locations doing cell phone start-ups, including Mexico City, Rome, Prague and Indonesia.
But to Cummings, none of that matters as much as her work at Waynesburg University.
“While those huge projects were a source of much pride,” she said in a Q&A released by the Pittsburgh Business Times. “I think my proudest moment professionally was watching the first group of Leadership Scholar students that I had advised as Waynesburg University graduate and receive their diplomas.”
Cummings was honored for her accomplishments in the corporate and education sectors at a ceremony last Wednesday, March 14, in Pittsburgh. Cummings said the evening included a reception with opportunity to network with the other award winners, a group photo and the ceremony itself. Incidentally, each recipient was able to choose a song to accompany receiving their award: Cummings chose the song, “Operator” by Jim Croce, to pay homage to her roots.
“It was interesting to hear all of the other candidates and their backgrounds,” she said. “I was very much humbled by it…It was a very rewarding experience.”
She said her favorite part of the evening was the chance to network with other professional women in the region—particularly those who had heard of Waynesburg before.
“Most enjoy meeting people I can talk to about Waynesburg University…”
When Cummings entered the realm of higher education, she led the Bosch Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. But identifying with Waynesburg’s purpose and mission, she soon made the change.
“My favorite aspect of this university clearly is the mission, but mostly it’s the people here,” she said. “It’s the sense of community and the people and their commitment to the mission, so that we’re all in it together…That’s the kind of work environment that having worked around the world, I can tell you: that doesn’t exist everywhere.”
Today, Cummings is a full-time administrator, designing curricula and the learning experiences of Waynesburg University’s graduate students. But she still teaches, as an adjunct, for fun.
“I just love the people and the mission and the sense of community here,” she said. “And it’s been a fabulous move and I’ve never looked back. It’s truly been a joy to work at this university.”
She remains focused on the well-being of the university, even with the spotlight on herself. The goal is to be “centered on the students,” Cummings said.
“How is my award going to build visibility for Waynesburg University?” Cummings asks herself. “How is that visibility for Waynesburg going to help us to attract students, donors, supporters that can make us be a stronger institution so that we can then do an even better job of helping our students to go out and change the world?”